Thursday, December 30, 2010

An Economical Interlude

Today afternoon when I was aimlessly browsing the internet, my friend pointed me to a website which had numerous articles. Now I'm not a person who reads a lot but that doesn't mean that I read too little either. Then again, I'm not what one would term as a voracious reader. Asking for article recommendations from my friend was met with an opinion to follow my own instinct and choose articles to read. I ended up choosing one on Charity, one on Logic and another on Economy. Very different topics when compared to each other and each had a story of it's own to tell. I was particularly interested in the way the article on Economy was written. It offered a statement from one of the founding fathers of economy and proceeded to debunk the economic myths which are held in great regard as of today.

The article also served to explain the way The Great Depression was handled. The author expressed disappointment that the current state of economic affairs were simply praising the numerous economical myths rather than look at hard factual logic. It had been a bane when The Great Depression actually happened. It created more problems than solve the one problem at large: Unemployment. The author wrote in the article that Jobs are more of a concern today than ever. This is of course the cold bitter truth. The recession of 2008 took the world by storm and proceeded to devastate both the big and the small guys, the former cutting down their monetary expenses and the latter being forced to close down in an unfortunate turn of events due to a financial crisis. Employers who were hiring in droves transformed into Employers who sought to send away people in droves. This gradually had a great impact on the world's economy with every Industry being affected in one way or the other. How many tragedies have we seen on the news depicting suicides over unemployment? The number is depressingly large.

This doesn't mean that the economy was fabulous before the recession though. Some sectors did have a great advantage over others and were booming so much that they were tipped to become bigger in the future. One fact is, no matter how small or how large, in the end every Industrial sector depends on all of the other sectors in a direct or an indirect way. When production is affected in one sector it would slowly begin to affect another unless the rate of production remains constant. Production is also equal to the number of jobs created as well as lowering or increasing the demand of products in the market. As we know, lower production means high demand and with that we encounter an irritable and shady fellow named Inflation. Go down the opposite lane and you would meet his equally irritable but a rather...."charitable" fellow called Deflation. They are equally unwanted as one serves to reduce production and the other proceeds to eliminate demand to such an extent where production creates waste. You would do well to take a trip back to the past and examine and compare the prices of commodities with the present. This would present a very large difference to raise many eyebrows indeed.

The article points out that production is the key to a thriving economy. I'm inclined to agree and at the same time would add that demand along with production is the way towards a successful economy in the future. More demand would mean more production and in turn more production would mean more opportunities thus solving the unemployment scenario. I wouldn't say that production on it's own is incapable of standing up to improve economical conditions. I would place demand as a supporting companion to the main character that is production. At the same time demand is a rather unpredictable character, a double agent like those you see in movies. When demand increases in power beyond the maximum level of production it naturally invites Inflation to the party and wreaks havoc on people, rich and poor. High prices anyone? When it goes down to abysmal levels, it forces production to bow it's head out of the way due to it's creations being shoved onto forgotten shelves. Both tend to disrupt the economy of a nation and in turn invite a third person known as unemployment.

Let me underline the importance of demand with a fitting example. The recent and temporary price rise of Onions in the Indian market showed how demand can eventually overwhelm production. Due to unexpected circumstances, the availability of the number of Onions decreased to such a minuscule amount that prices were raised by a ridiculously large amount. The situation was prominent until the supply was put back into order. Demand is the important piece in the puzzle which constantly changes to bring about radical changes in the economy of any nation. Production is for naught when there isn't a reasonable demand to match up to it since nobody benefits when stuff produced in large quantities is not being sold at all. With this I end my rather amateur musings on the economical climate. This is just a newbie's point of view and you're all free to extend your opinions onto me. Here's hoping for a better future with affordable prices for all. Later then! Have a great time and a Happy New Year everybody! ^_^

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The Magic of Little Things

The importance of little things has always remained a core aspect of my thoughts for a very long time and I doubt that there's anything which would say otherwise. Many times or should I say, for most of our life, joy and sadness arises from those little things which develop over a course of time. Everything starts small and grows healthier the more it is "fed". Sometimes they can make a big difference for someone or everyone. For example, your smile can brighten up an otherwise gloomy day of your friends and dear ones and it makes you happy as well! A simple and sweet "Happy Birthday" can make a person very happy on his/her birthday. Parents taking time out
to spend time with their children can make a huge difference in bonding between the two. These are just some of the very many examples out there in the world.

It is said "from a tiny spark may burst a mighty flame". There's no bigger a truth than this! Everything we see today might well be something which grew out of something small. This is true for both the good and the bad side. Understanding between people will eventually blossom into great friendship. At the same time, misunderstanding between people will eventually breed anger, hatred and misconception. In the beginning it would look almost negligible but will slowly grow into such a catastrophe that the root cause is almost forgotten. People would then try to solve the problem but alas, that alone will not be enough. The real solution lies in tracing the roots of the problem in order to eliminate it. Let's take the positive side. Just imagine that you cross a certain person everyday on your way to work or on the road or anywhere. Now add a little something to it. You smile and wish him/her every time you happen to meet. Now after a long time, just think that you've stopped that practice and you instead ignore that person. What would happen? That very person, even if he/she were a stranger, would come up to you and inquire if you were not well or if you were falling on bad times. That's how much difference a small but great thing can make!

You would have heard about people who don't spend time with their parents either because they're busy or they simply make excuses for it. Looking deeper into this, some of them do this because they had it the same way before. Remember that I talked about parents finding time to go and spend some time with their children? Unfortunately, that wouldn't have happened in this case. Just think about it. Just because the parents didn't want to do a nice little thing which would have ensured a closer bond with their children, they would reap bitter rewards for the rest of their lifetime. They would have money, a nice home and all facilities in the world. But an important thing would be missing: the fond vision to stay as a happy family. However, there are some who realize that revenge is the wrong way and eventually create happy memories later on. But in the end, the little things we have done in the past will eventually catch up with us, whether they were negligible or not worth bothering at that moment.

There's also a famous example about tyrants ruling with terror among innocent people. Those tyrants fear more than the people who are affected because they know that one day, someone, however small he/she may be will rise up and bring about their destruction as surely as the sun rises and sets everyday. This is made good by our day to day stories and examples in real life as well. India's struggle for independence is a good example in itself when we look at Mahatma Gandhi's use of simple but powerful things called non-violence and righteousness. Therefore, let's not underestimate the incalculable power of little things in our life because they eventually have the power to make or break moments, to separate or bring people together and in the end, make our life happier or more tragic. With this food for thought, I'm now off to the real world. Adios!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Humanity: The true wonder of the world

Hello there everybody! Hope you're doing fine! As we say goodbye to the month of September 2010, another month awaits us with unknown opportunities and events. You might embark on a new adventure or perhaps you might just achieve that one goal in life you've always dreamed about! Believe in yourself and you will be amazed at what you are capable of, for there is no better a tutor than self-confidence in any walk of life. Before we get excited about what the next month has in store for us, let's sit down, have a cup of tea and think about a long forgotten but easily remembered word called Humanity. Everyone would have heard about this word. Some use this to enable good deeds and some, well...try to enable it for their own selfish gains. However, the former is more dwarfed compared to the latter. How and why, you ask? That's a very good question. The answer to this question lies right in front of our eyes but many do not even attempt to look at it. Instead, they seek to look past it and end up wrecking their lives. It doesn't stop here though, for the actions performed by an individual will at some point, have an impact on society as well. Hence, in the long run, others are affected by it too. Some overcome it and improve their lives and for some who are unfortunate, bend their will and accept it as truth. When Humanity, that known but yet unknown wonder hidden deep inside of us falls, everything righteous and good cease and get destroyed.

Indeed it's happening as we speak, or read if you prefer. The concept of Humanity is on a steady decline in the whole world today. It's not just one particular country or continent or a city or even a village. It just happens everywhere and even though we get a thought, it remains as a thought. There are very few who actually strive to convert that thought into reality. Even their efforts are either in vain or fall on deaf ears as anti-social elements strike them down. This is where the true purpose of Humanity is lost. Unity magically disappears when there is a need to fight for a good cause and instead fear is born out of it. This known truth might be sour or even unbearably bitter to your eyes and ears but unfortunately it IS reality. We have the power to change this harsh reality into a world called paradise. We have the ability to do it and we have the knowledge to do it as well. So why do we fail in this area alone? Why do we fail in the most simplest yet the most vital part of our life?

It's said that an example explains stuff better than anything (or at least I believe it to be so). Let's take a simple example: How many times have you seen the news and heard about innocent people being imprisoned for many years just because they crossed what would seem to be the "borders" between two places? And said imprisonment continues for a long time even after they are proven to be innocent until it's exposed! Or how many times have you seen news channels popularize a calamity so much that they hold debates which stretch on for hours or in some cases even weeks? How do you think that the people who actually went through that ordeal would feel living it all over again everytime they turn on their TV sets or go outside? You also might want to recall the last time you saw a reporter faithfully doing his "duty" and showing you a person suffering on the ground for a lot of time instead of helping him. These aren't the only times when Humanity bows down it's head in an agonizing silence.

For crying out loud, people talk about the concept of "our world" and yet love to point a finger against those who supposedly "tresspass" inside what they say "my area, my country". Don't get me wrong, those are of course measures set in place to remove people with bad intentions but most of the time, those very bad people end up getting away. One pressing thing is that Humanity always banks upon a certain thing called trust and right now, it's not available in plenty. Because of atrocious activities done by some people, every single human is viewed as a suspect today. Trust is very hard to win over and it is rightfully so for only the righteous achieve it. But right now, trust is being discarded like a use and throw material by many.

I'll tell you guys one thing which I believe with all of my heart: If only every human viewed another as just another human being like himself/herself, then any darn or damn problem in the world could be solved. World peace? Done. No wars? Done. Solve your problem with the next-door neighbour? Done. You name it, there IS a solution to it. Can anyone in the world achieve any sort of world peace or something like that without this pre-requisite? It's beyond impossible. It won't be the real deal. People will change again and go back to the old ways. The solution is to not to force the concept of Humanity on people. People themselves should know and understand it. Yes of course, this is nearly impossible. But there's a nice difference between what's nearly impossible and what's beyond impossible. The former means that a chance does exist no matter how small or insignificant and the latter as it says, less than zero percent. There's a starting point for the first one and with determination, one could transform something which is nearly impossible into a nearly possible scenario.

I'll dwell upon one last point. How long and how much effort would it cost us to think that we are human beings like everyone around us? Nothing. It costs absolutely nothing and takes almost no time and what's more, it transforms you into a better individual. Think Human first, not American or Indian or French or German or British. Remember that no matter what, whether on the other side of the world or having better looks or not looking better or have different beliefs and what not, EVERYONE in the world is still another human being just like YOU. Let the human in you come first and everything else later. Think human and empathize as a human. You will eventually gain ultimate understanding above all others. Have a great time! ^_^

Friday, September 10, 2010

First impressions of a soul at work

And so it came to pass that in those days I would no longer be a student but a working individual who has to handle responsibility sooner or later.......okay I'll stop uttering a prophecy and get to the real thing! I'm going to miss those wonderful days spent with my friends at college and at school, and of course the overall miracle that is a student's life. But then again I have moved on to bigger things which will make my life better as I'm now stepping out into the wide world for everyone to see. The best thing is that I can still meet up with all my friends and it's great to see them succeeding in their lives as well.

It's really not the end of the world when you move into this phase, only that you have to leave something behind to grow into a successful individual. The "say goodbye to one of the most wonderful times in your life" something. Hard to forget and hard to leave behind. People would say:that's life. I would say: take the best part of that phase in your life, add a little excitement, determination for the future and stir well (clockwise, or anti-clockwise if you prefer) for an amazing combination. Then sit back, relax (not really) and watch as you ascend higher and higher onto the planes of happiness.

Anyways, enough with that sort of stuff. First day at work was a strange mixture of excitement and expectation for me. It was nearly similar to what I had imagined and as the days passed by, it was a smooth process for me to make a transition into the work environment. But I still held on to what was or rather what was left of my student life and convinced myself that as long as I was in training I could still coax myself into the false impression that I was still technically a student. It was both right and wrong at the same time, both maintaining a sense of equilibrium. It was purely right because I had to have that urge to learn as a student and it was absolutely wrong because I also had to change myself into a contributor, an employee who gives his best rather than sitting in the dark looking at false images. So far my training has gone well and I have also been interested in learning all the concepts which spring up from time to time. I do have confidence in myself that one day (which is soon, honestly!) I would transform myself into someone who strives forward for achievements while keeping all of his life's memories with him on the way. It's both easy and hard to do it.

So how have you guys felt when the time came for the big change in your life? Were you like "Whole speed ahead!!" or perhaps you had to caution yourself with every step you took in today's industrial world? Don't worry about the steps you take as long as it shapes you into the person you want to be in the world's tomorrow. But don't forget the memories of yesterday though. Look into the future and you are a good candidate to succeed. Take the past, learn from it and then look into the future, you WILL succeed. And with that, I say Good Evening folks! ^_^

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The art of Art!

How many of you love drawing, sketching and painting? Or perhaps even doodling? You might have fleshed out those wonderful creations in your notebooks (when you thought your teacher wasn't looking) or even your desks, walls and anything which looked remotely like a canvas (hopefully you haven't stumbled across stranger things). If you aren't interested in doing it yourself, you would have surely admired works done by great painters in the world. The beauty and creativity in their imagination spread out on the canvas is a feast for the eyes. Vibrant colours and beautiful scenes can have a very big impression on our mind as we finally get the message which the artist wanted to deliver.

I like drawing, painting and doodling in my free time. However, I'm still a rookie at painting stuff and I'm currently hopeless at light sources which means that those wonderful shadow effects and shading stuff will have to wait. I grew up teaching myself about drawing in the form of Outline Drawing. Which is to say, I never ventured into the area of shading until college or so probably because I didn't know how to do it properly or I wasn't aware of that at that time. I believe that immense concentration is the key to drawing properly in any situation as I have found that it has helped me a lot to improve myself and I haven't taken any training. For those who believe me, hello there! For those who don't let's test it out!

Take a sheet of paper and a pencil or a pen. Now without focusing much, draw a straight line. Yup just a straight line. And oh don't try to make it look smooth just give a feeble attempt. Now, next to it draw another line but this time devote all of your mind to it, concentrate and focus on it and try to make it look as smooth as possible. Once you're done, take a good look at your work. You will usually find that the second time you had a better result than the first one. That's all there is to it! Drawing doesn't require any sort of special skill nor does it require you to be a born prodigy. All it requires is your concentration which is present in every single person in the world.
Oh sure, you would argue against me saying that one just cannot become a Da Vinci or a Raja Ravi Varma. That part is true. However, it's partly misleading as well. You cannot become a great painter by hoping to become one, but rather you CAN become a great painter by willing yourself to become one. Start drawing something, anything and try your best to make it look similar to the picture in your mind. You might start off with a wonderful sketch or a half decent sketch, but for one who perseveres, the end result is the same: the ability to paint wonderful pictures.

I'm not a famous painter nor am I very good at creating art but the above stuff has come from my personal experience (Remember the part where I said I never took any training).
So what are you waiting for? All you need right now is a big heart full of inspiration and fingers itching to sketch the next masterpiece in the world! Get drawing and remember: Stay away from those who call you drawers! While you're at it, I'll get back to my current dilemma: What do I draw next? :D

Monday, September 6, 2010

Assignments, Deadlines and hectic weeks of work!

How many of you experience those weeks which make you feel all worn out and longing for the weekend? I suppose everyone in every job faces this situation either when the workload becomes too much or if they are running behind deadlines which should have been met a long time ago. The former is manageable with a steady pace but the latter is what strikes fear into every worker's heart. Everyone loves the sound of deadlines which simply whoosh past you like the wind. Yes it would be great if all they did was blow past but unfortunately they go past and take us with them as well......right into oblivion.

One second we find ourselves frantically trying to outdo ourselves beyond our capacity to get that job done before the last minute ticks off and the next, you find yourself face to face with the ever terrifying possibility: it's time to face the music...err...the boss. These kind of meetings are often not pretty and leave people wishing that they had managed to finish their tasks ahead of their deadlines. Prior planning before starting a task is a good practice in order to prepare yourself for the obstacles ahead. The most important thing, however, is adapting the plan according to the situation as required. This will implement flexibility in your plans and allow you to overcome any difficulty without much effort.

Let's consider that I have a task (or an assignment) which I need to complete in approximately 5 days. The first step I would think of taking would be to break down the effort required into five portions, each comprising of 20% of the task. It would be better of course to plan for 4 days rather than five as it would enable you an extra day in case something goes wrong at the last moment. The next part I should concentrate on is, no prizes for guessing, concentration. It's really no use if I plan well and ahead for a task but instead end up not following it. It's as good as not planning at all. I feel that following these base guidelines would help people get started (if not get a clear idea about what they need to do) as it's the hardest thing to do. Once we get started, we find to our own surprise that we automatically travel to where we need/want to be.

So what do we need to succeed in our day to day tasks? All we need to do is quit sitting there planning for eternity and begin doing it with a base plan! Let the plan evolve with you, change with you and most of all adapt with you. And while you guys adapt to this, it's time for me to stop lazing around and return to the task at hand. Good Luck! :D

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Transformers: The invisible car

No, no, no. I'm really not planning to actually bring out a sequel to the Transformers movies nor am I trying to create a fan-fictional story about it. We all love good sci fi stuff and those fancy gadgets never fail to impress us. We would love to have them implemented in real life don't we (except those mad blood thirsty human killing robots of course!)? I saw an "implementation" of that very thing in my life a few days back. Or should I say a rather "pretendable" way of bringing it to life.

A few days back I was traveling in a bus which was crowded so much that you would begin to wonder why you had suppressed that urge of waiting for the next bus when in reality, time was running out and you had to reach a place within a short amount of time. There was this certain middle aged individual who looked not too shabby but also wasn't dressed up as though he was having the time of his life over here. He had managed to secure a prized window seat and was chatting on his cellphone for a long time. The conductor was busy moving through the crowd with great difficulty and was yelling at people to buy their tickets if they hadn't gotten them already. Just another normal scene in a bus you would think. Correct. However, the cellphone guy wanted to make this day more than normal though.

The passenger sitting next to him wasn't exactly annoyed by his constant jabbering but it looked like he was reconsidering his decision of sitting next to him. When a little relief appeared in the form of the individual saying goodbye on the phone, it certainly turned out to be a blend of both relief and amusement. The middle aged fellow suddenly transformed into a mad scientist and said into his phone: "Alright then. It's a bit hard hearing your voice now that we've entered a heavy traffic zone. Besides I'm driving my car and it's hard to keep speaking. I'll call you when I reach home."

I wonder if I was shocked at that moment but the passenger sitting next to him certainly was. His incredulous looks at the other man went unnoticed (or perhaps ignored for the sake of maintaining his "image") as the person proceeded to keep his cellphone in his shirt pocket. I don't know about you guys but this is perhaps the first time I've seen a person elegantly transform a boring bus atmosphere into that of a cool airconditioned one of a luxurious car.
However, he does deserve a lot of credit for expelling the treacherous thing called boredom out of my mind for the rest of the journey. But this came with an added side effect as well: I was grinning stupidly till I reached my friend's house.

Monday, August 16, 2010

A new look, a new phase and a new post!

Whoa! It's been a long time (I think the word "ages" would fit better over here)since I decided to write a new post. Now I'm fairly aware that many people are initially enthusiastic about blogging but as time passes, the interest wears out after a while and in the end, those people forget that they had once started a blog. Very few survive in this process, most of them being already dedicated bloggers who used to keep a diary from time to time (Blogging is the digitized version of your very own diary but of course without your private stuff) and few being the newcomers in the area (with great determination of course). So where do I fall into this? You would have already guessed it from the difference in the gap in my post dates. I have never kept a diary in my life and I'am a newbie in the vast blogosphere.

Time passes fast. When I woke up today and visited my blog, I was indeed surprised to find that my previous post was done a year back! It's been somewhat of a wild ridefrom last year to today considering that I have finally landed a job in the Software Industry. My aim was to get into the Software sector of the IT industry and thank God (and goodness!) that it came true (I suppose I wouldn't mind going into other fields but then again, I think I would sleep through! I'm a B.E.ECE graduate by the way).

Training is going on over here which promises to shape me into a completely different individual at the end which I'm sure will happen. Alright then, I bid adieu to all of you with a new look on the blog and a new phase in my life!